Ar-Pharazôn
'''Ar-Pharazôn '''also known as '''Ar-Pharazôn the Golden '''and later known as '''Suladân '''was the twenty fifth and last King of the island of Númenor. His military might was so great that when he waged war upon Mordor, the servants of Sauron were scattered. The Dark Lord came before him, kneeling as a form of surrendering and gave him a Ring of Power. Greedy, the king took it without saying anything and brought the prisoner back with him to Númenor. Due to the Ring's corruption, he became old and slowly fell under the influnce of Sauron's will. Believed to have been stranded on Aman in the Caves of the Forgotten, he returned later as one of the Nazgûl. History Second Age Ar-Pharazôn was the son of Gimilkhâd, the leader of the King's Menduring the reign of Tar-Palantir of Númenor. Ar-Pharazôn grew into a Man of great strength, stature, and will, not unlike the ancient heroes of the Edain. In these earlier days, he was good friends with Amandil, the future Lord of Andúnië and his line of people. However, he was his father's child and thus was instructed to follow in the ways of the King's Men. Ar-Pharazôn became a man of great pride and was eager for more wealth and glory. He grew restless in his homeland and was often abroad leading like-minded Númenóreans in the wars that they were waging against the men of Middle-earth. In this he fared well on both land and sea for he won great wealth, and gained great respect as a captain. When he finally returned home, the people rejoiced in him and he was very popular and generous with the wealth and fortunes he won in Middle-earth. Upon the death of his uncle, Tar-Palantir, who had no son, Ar-Pharazôn decided to wed his daughter, Míriel, which was against her will. As Tar-Míriel was the rightful Ruling Queen of Númenor, Ar-Pharazôn was able to usurp the throne. He gave to his wife the name Ar-Zimraphel, refusing to use the Elven speech, whilst persecuting the last vestiges of the Faithful. As time passed, it came to his attention that Sauron, the Lord of Mordor, was expanding his power throughout Middle-earth and was being called the Lord of Men. Ar-Pharazôn, ever prideful, resolved to challenge his lordship of the earth. In SA 3261, he marched upon Mordor with an army so powerful that Sauron realized his servants were no match for it and thus ordered them to retreat. But the Dark Lord was cunning, and he feigned to be overawed at Ar-Pharazôn's might, giving him a Ring of Power, claiming only the king was worthy of it. Despite taking it, Ar-Pharazôn did not trust Sauron, and brought him back to Númenor as a hostage. However, Sauron quickly took advantage of his situation to gain Ar-Pharazôn's trust, and by way of careful flattery, lies,half-truths and the influence of the Ring of Power, he soon became the king's closest and most trusted advisor. Ar-Pharazôn was convinced to worship the Dark One in the hope that he would please the God and be able to cheat mortality. Some of the results of Sauron's cunning were the erecting of a Great Temple to Sauron, intense persecution of the Faithful, and the chopping down of the White Tree of Númenor. Soon the king and his followers were worshiping Sauron openly and burning innocents at the altar of the temple as sacrificial offerings to appease the god. Then, as Ar-Pharazôn felt the bite of old age upon him, intensified by the Ring's corruption, Sauron was able to convince him to attack Valinor and claim the right to immortality by force. He began the building of a huge fleet, the Great Armament, to attack Valinor in SA 3310 and finally broke the Ban of the Valar, landing on the shores of the Undying Lands in SA 3319. The Valar then laid down their guardianship of the world and called upon Eru, the One. He sank Ar-Pharazôn's fleet and all of Númenor beneath the ocean, changing the shape of the world. Valinor was no longer connected to Middle-earth, and mortals could no longer find it. Third Age Thanks to the Ring of Power, he returned as Suladân, one of the Nine, terrible wraiths bound to the will of Sauron. As such, he became a trusted general in Sauron's Army and lieutenant to the Witch-king of Angmar. He, the Black Captain, Helm Hammerhand, Isildur and several other Nazgûl were sent by the Dark Lord to claim Celebrimbor's New Ring from the spider Shelob. Despite this, the Nine were forced to retreat due the intervention of Eltariel and the Bright Lord. Talion, Celebrimbor and Eltariel faced Suladân once again in Minas Morgul. He was defeated and Talion saw his past, realizing that the Nine Ringwraiths had been the Kings of Men enslaved by the Rings of Power. He then banished the former king, who fled back to his Master.Category:Servants of Sauron Category:Servants of Evil Category:Númenóreans Category:Kings Category:Black Council